Taking its inspiration from the humble chicken (or 'niwatori' in Japanese), Masami Akita's tenth installment of his 13 Japanese Birds series comes in three parts. Apparently Merzbow-san has a bit of a fixation on this most common of barnyard fowl, naming the three compositions here: 'Niwatori Obsession 1', 'Niwatori Obsession 2' and 'Niwatori Obsession 3'. The tone set by the first track gravitates towards particularly extreme free-jazz and noise-skronk, with wailing analogue sounds jostling furiously with furious, erratic drum outbursts. Part two covers similar territory, but features wild synth-noise oscillations that situate themselves somewhere between the chaotic sprawl of an Acid Mothers Temple release and a particularly wild Evan Parker solo. The third and final part in this miniature trilogy shifts into psychedelic metal territory, offering heavily fizzed guitar riffs and doomy 4/4 drumming. Sterling work.